


Muffins and Memories

by BlackCherrySeltzer



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No Beta, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sweet things, YuriRarepairWeek2021, i really wanted berry muffins after writing this...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCherrySeltzer/pseuds/BlackCherrySeltzer
Summary: Yuri quickly ran in to the kitchen to see the source of the smell only to be greeted by Constance lamenting over a smokey tray of what looked like lumps of coal.“Hey Shady Lady, what do you have there?” He spoke up to get her attention, startling her.“Yuri! Just why are you up here?” She spun around as he entered the kitchen.“This is the first time all day I had to make myself something proper to eat. Let’s just say I had a very busy day oftrainingand leave it at that,” he lied. “But I feel like I should be asking you the same thing. What on earth was it that you were trying to make?”____________________________________________________________Yuri goes to cook himself a late night meal after a long day. However when he enters Garreg Mach’s kitchen, he’s surprised to find Constance trying to do some late night baking too.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc & Constance von Nuvelle, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/Constance von Nuvelle
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Muffins and Memories

“That took longer than I expected…” Yuri sighed to himself finally entering the men’s quarters after a long day of dealing with a neighboring gang that was encroaching on his territory. “Balthus must be at the inn,” he muttered to himself seeing his empty bed. It was around midnight, and despite it being so late his night was just beginning. _“I should probably go fill out that paperwork I needed to finish—”_ He started to think to himself, but was cut off by the sound of his stomach grumbling. _“Ah, I forgot I haven’t eaten yet. Maybe I should take a break to make a late dinner first.”_ He made quick work changing out of his battle clothes and went up to the dining hall to prepare his meal.

Garreg Mach was always nice and quiet when everyone else was asleep. Some people there actually believed the campus had an eerie atmosphere and that ghosts haunted the area at night, but he never believed anything like that. He actually quite enjoyed Garreg Mach when darkness enveloped it. He sometimes even took walks around the grounds during the evenings to get a refreshing breath of air.

Yuri made his way in to the dining hall, but was immediately greeted with a foul scent of something burning. “Maybe these ghosts everyone talks about like to wreak havoc in the kitchen at night,” he mused to himself. 

He quickly ran in to the kitchen to see the source of the smell only to be greeted by Constance lamenting over a smokey tray of what looked like lumps of coal. 

“Hey Shady Lady, what do you have there?” He spoke up to get her attention, startling her.

“Yuri! Just why are you up here?” She spun around as he entered the kitchen.

“This is the first time all day I had to make myself something proper to eat. Let’s just say I had a very busy day of _training_ and leave it at that,” he lied. “But I feel like I should be asking you the same thing. What on earth was it that you were trying to make?” He said picking up one of the rock shaped forms from the tray and tapping it against the table. It sounded hard and ash came off as he held it. 

She angrily swiped her failed attempt out of his hand and trashed it along with all the contents on her tray. “Ugh, if you must know, I’ve been craving these delectable muffins that Mercedes used to make for my brother and myself when we were young. I do have the recipe she gave me, but they keep turning out as such…” she said looking back to the waste bin.

Yuri sighed, “Well, I am an excellent chef and I am here — do you want me to help you make them?” he asked.

“No, no, I’m more than confident I can make these myself!” she boasted. “Go on and make your little dinner over there. Please just be sure to not get in my way.” She went back to her station and once again started measuring out her ingredients.

“If you say so,” he shrugged. He lit up a fire under the stove and pulled out a preserved pheasant to start preparing one of his favorite meals. Waiting for his pan to heat up, he watched Constance stir her wet ingredients into the dry batter.

“What type of muffins are you making anyway?” he questioned.

“These are Albinean berry muffins and they are simply the best baked treat around!” she said adding in the berries to the mix. “A wonderful combination of flavors that reminds me of my childhood.”

“Oh right, I forgot you do have a special affinity for those berries. Remember when you first came to Abyss and spent a week’s worth of the Church’s funds on twenty bushels of those berries? Aelfric was so mad, the look on his face was hilarious when the knights started hauling all these berries through the gates. I suppose I should blame Mercedes for instilling your taste in them then?” he laughed. Constance’s face turned red as he recounted the story. He quickly went back to cooking his meal before she could scold him, adding oil to the pan. The pan hissed loudly as he placed the pheasant breast on the hot oil. 

“Mind if I borrow a few of these?” he said already taking some of her berries and adding them to his dish. 

“Hey wait those are mine! I need them all!” she argued back.

“Do you really? Or do you just want to eat the leftovers later?” he smiled at her.

“Ugh, fine you may have a few. But no more than a handful!”

Yuri cooked away and Constance filled up her muffin tin with her finished batter. 

“There! Now it’s finally time to bake them!” she squealed.

She left the kitchen for a moment and a curious Yuri watched her as she came back with two large bundles of firewood.

“Uhh Constance, I don’t think you need that much wood…” Yuri stated as she started piling it into the oven. 

“Of course I do! See, Mercedes’s recipe says to bake these for about an hour over a low heat, but using my ingenuity, I figured a way to have these muffins finished even faster! All I need to do is increase the heat,” she paused throwing more firewood in, “and _voila_ muffins in under ten minutes!” she laughed.

“…And is this what you did last time that turned into that burnt mess?” he said skeptically.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I have a different method now. I put all of my magical strength in to the process when I baked them before, which was a bit too much for this meager oven to handle. I will dial it back down to eighty percent this time. That ought to do the trick!” Constance held out her hand prepping her fire spell, but was interrupted as Yuri grabbed her hand. 

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘good things come to those who wait’? Here, why don’t you try doing what Mercedes’s recipe says this time, and in the mean time we can share some of the pheasant I made. I know it’s your favorite,” he said enticing her.

She thought about it for a moment. His meal did smell quite good and she was hungry now from spending the whole night baking.

“Alright… I will test her method this time, but if it fails, I’m going back to using my magic,” Constance resolved.

Yuri finished cooking and the pair took the food into the dining hall. Constance lit the candles on the table with a snap of her fingers and Yuri plated the pheasant for the both of them. 

“I was wondering, what made you want these muffins so badly this late at night?” Yuri said in between bites.

Constance looked away for a moment, almost embarrassed to say why. “I…actually had a dream about them… I couldn’t stop thinking about the delicious taste of these treats after I woke up so I came here to bake them.”

“You dreamt about them? Damn they must be good muffins then!” Yuri laughed and Constance shot him a look.

“Would you stop! Well, it’s not that I dreamt about _just_ the muffins… I dreamt about being a child, baking them alongside Mercedes and our brothers. In my dream, we were laughing and scattering flour all over the place as we baked. Everyone was overjoyed once we finished and got to take a bite out of the warm, freshly baked muffins. It felt so peaceful, just like it was all those years ago before the war…” she thought back fondly. 

Yuri simply smiled back at her. How rare it was to see Constance show her true gentler side, and to him of all people. The war had been quite taxing on all their lives, but Constance seemed like she was handling it well from the outside. It appears there are deeper thoughts below her surface that even he was unaware of.

“What is with that smile? Do you think I am childish for wanting such treats?” Her voice rose, preparing to defend herself.

“Not at all,” he laughed. “In fact, I’m even more eager to try these muffins of your dreams. Speaking of which, they should be done now. Let’s go check on them.” He collected their plates and the pair went back into the kitchen.

The wonderful smell of berries permeated the room and hit them immediately as they entered. Constance opened up the oven to check on them and smiled seeing the light brown tops peek out of the tray. 

“I think they’re ready!” she exclaimed, pulling Yuri over so he could check them out too. “They look ready to me, let’s pull them out and let them cool.” Yuri grabbed a cloth and pulled them out, setting them on a nearby table. Constance used her magic to put out the flames and the pair waited several minutes until they were cool enough to touch.

“The best part is finally here!” Constance said taking a big bite out of one of them. Yuri joined her grabbing one and digging in too. He was shocked as he took his first bite. They were surprisingly good for something Constance made. The muffins were sweet and fluffy with the tartness of berries in every bite.

“Well, what do you think!? My baking prowess is now matched with that of any elite baker in all of Fódlan!” she prided.

“I wouldn’t make that comparison just yet, but I do have to admit they are quite good. I could see why you dream of them,” he smirked.

They sat together enjoying a few more of the baked goods as the night went on and chatted about frivolous things from their past. Yuri told Constance about how his mother taught him how to cook and she listened to him intently, completely enthralled by all his culinary adventures.

“We should probably head back to Abyss soon, the sun will be rising shortly…” Constance said looking out the window seeing the sun peeking above the horizon.

“Ah, have we really been here all night? I meant to clean up a while ago. Go on ahead before the sun rises, I’ll take care of things here,” Yuri said taking into consideration her condition.

“Are you sure? I might have a spell to make the cleaning go faster.”

“I think I can managed a few plates without the assistance of magic,” he smiled back at her. As she got up to leave, Yuri caught her arm to stop her.

“Hold on a moment, you have some berry juice on your face from the muffins,” he indicated to her mouth. She blushed embarrassed, but before she could pull out her handkerchief to wipe her face, Yuri pulled her in for a kiss, licking up the tart flavor from her lips. “Can’t let that go to waste,” he winked, took the dishes, and left to go to the back wash room.

Constance stood there smiling to herself, but was quickly reminded to leave as the sun’s rays started coming in to the kitchen. She packed up the muffins, leaving a few behind for Yuri, and left as the new day started.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Yuri Rarepair Week's day 3 prompt Cooking / Illness! 
> 
> Couldn't get the idea out of my head that Constance would be the type of person who thinks you can cook stuff faster if you just increase the temperature haha It's a good think Yuri watches out for her 🧁
> 
> Also, I'm on Twitter! If you want to follow me to see more of my works, my handle is @blackcherryselz


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